which is owned and operated by Harry Dunbar, who's a tile setting contractor in Barrie, Ontario that specializes in showers. Harry has a DIY Q&A forum on his web site for newbies to ask questions and get advice as they construct and tile their own showers.

And Harry doesn't charge a dime for his time.

The problem with any kind of DIY TV program or course is that you learn what they teach you, but when it comes time to do it yourself in your own house, you discover that things aren't the same as they were in the TV program, and you're uncertain as to if and how that changes the gameplan you've been taught.

If you have a digital camera, you can get onto any DIY tiling web site, like Harry's or John Bridge's and post pictures there of your situation so that any experienced tile setter can tell you what your options are in that situation.

If Donato Pompo is widely recognized as "one of the industry's top men", why don't I see him earning extra money for himself by endorsing products for Mapei, Flextile, Custom Building Products, etc. just like Bob Villa and others did? (Not saying Bob Villa knows squat, but he's smart enough to milk a cow when he sees one.)

I am not a Retail or DYI type of guy, I am a professional consultant, although we do consult with many of the companies you mention. Just to give you a little of my background. I grew up in a family tile business. Was in the union as an installer early on. After being drafted in army 82nd Airborne I went to college and I have a biochemistry education with a mba. Spent 17 years in family tile and stone importing and distribution company that I managed. Spent 7 years as sales manager at Laticrete. Have been a forensic investigator, quality control consultant, and trainer for over 12 years. Currently I sit on ASTM C18 Stone, ANSI A108, ISO TC189, CTIOA and MIA committees, and participate in TCNA Handbook committee and NTCA Technical committee. Have been a Certified Ceramic Tile Consultant through CTIOA since 1979. I am a ACAC Council-Certified Microbial Remediator. I am a certified Construction Document Technician through CSI. If you go to my website at www.CTaSC.com you can see the list of many articles, presentations, and courses that I have authored. I create and produce the TTMAC online training courses. And I love our industry and what to see it prosper...

The UofCTS course isn't DYI. It is a course for professional installers to learn industry standards. Industry consensus groups create standards to help others avoid problems. Problems are negative advertising for our industry and affect the lively hoods of all of us. If the installers are not aware of the industry standards then how can they avoid these know problems? The course is not meant to teach mechanic skills. Passing the course is not an indication the person has the skill set or will do good work. It simply is verification that they learned and understand the current industry standards. You can watch a 6 minute video preview of the courses at www.UofCTS.org.

there are volume discounts if you pre-purchase 10 or more tuitions, which is listed on the campus site at www.UofCTS.org. TTMAC and CTDA offer special discounts to their members if you buy the courses through them.